Office of Research and Development Publications

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Spanning the border of U.S. and Canada, the Nooksack-Fraser transboundary area (2639 km2) is home to the communities of Lynden, Washington, and Abbotsford, British Columbia, with a strong base in farming, fisheries and outdoor recreation. Balancing these uses is a key issue in t...

Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs) organize toxicological knowledge from the molecular level up to the population level, providing evidence-based causal linkages at each step. The AOPWiki serves as a repository of AOPs. With the international adoption of the AOP framework, the AOPw...

The Narragansett Bay Estuary Program (NBEP) developed 24 environmental indicators for its 2017 State of Narragansett Bay and Its Watershed report with the collaboration of over 50 bi-state (MA and RI) and regional partners. The report presents and tracks the 24 indicators in ord...

We would like to know more about the risk posed by thousands of chemicals in the environment – which ones should we start with? High throughput toxicokinetics (HTTK) is an example of new approach methodologies (NAMs) that are being evaluated through comparison between in vitro pr...

Computer modeling and simulation of complex dynamical systems can provide a virtual framework for translating biomolecular lesions into critical phenomena underlying developmental processes and toxicities. In silico cell agent-based models (ABMs) may be executed to simulate how b...

The University of Rhode Island’s Watershed Watch Volunteer Monitoring Program has been collecting water quality data on dozens of Rhode Island lakes and ponds for over 25 years, allowing exploration of long-term trends in common water quality parameters. Not all lakes and p...

4-Acetoxyphenol (CAS 3233-32-7) was used as the substrate for electrochemical assay of acetylcholinesterase (AchE). The enzyme activity was reported as the electrical current generated by anodic oxidation of hydroquinone, the product from esterase-catalyzed hydrolysis of 4-Acetox...

Graphene family nanomaterials (GFNs) are widely used in the field of electronics and biomedicine. Gaps in our knowledge about fate and toxicity of GFNs, such as graphene oxide (GO), raise concerns regarding their environmental impacts. Filter feeding bivalves, such as Crassostrea...

Traditionally hazard quotients (HQs) have been computed for ecological risk assessment, often without quantifying the underlying uncertainties and variability in the risk estimate. We demonstrate a Bayesian network approach to quantitatively assess variability and uncertainties i...

A high level presentation for their senior people, lasting perhaps 45 minutes, covering a history of the protocol program, outcome focused… the why’s and how’s, and how you measure success.

The National Research Council (1983) identified chemical risk as a function of both inherent hazard and exposure. To address thousands of chemicals, we need to use “high throughput methods” to prioritize chemicals for additional study. High throughput risk prioritization needs: h...

Wildfire smoke contains hazardous levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), a pollutant shown to adversely effect respiratory and cardiovascular health. Estimating PM2.5 concentrations attributable to wildfires is key to understanding the extent to which wildfires contribute to ...

Adult cardiac stem cells (CSC) and progenitor cells (CPC) represent a population of cells in the heart critical for its regeneration and function over a lifetime. The impact of chemicals on adult human CSC/CPC differentiation and function is unknown. Research was conducted to dev...

From the earliest days of public health, environmental protection has been fundamental to preventing disease and ensuring a healthy population. From John Snow and the Broad Street Pump to chlorinated drinking water in Jersey City, NJ, protecting the environment has been a core pu...

Commercial and open-source process simulators have enabled the calculation of mass and energy balances as well as equipment requirements for chemical processes design. These simulators are able to represent steady-state and dynamic processes characterized by high-fidelity models....

The performance of a constructed, variable-flow treatment wetland was evaluated for its ability to reduce bacterial loads from the Banklick Creek, an impacted recreational waterway in Northern Kentucky. Historically, culturable fecal indicator (coliforms and E. coli) bacteria me...

Detailed chemical risk assessments are time-consuming and difficult to compile, leading to regulatory mandates to prioritize chemicals for further assessment. Multiple regulatory bodies (EPA, ECHA, Health Canada) are currently tasked with prioritizing chemicals for data collecti...

Floodplains perform several important ecosystem services, including storing water during precipitation events and reducing peak flows, thereby reducing flooding of adjacent communities. Understanding the relationship between flood inundation and floodplains is critical for ecosys...

Increases in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf), Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II alpha (Camk2a), and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) response element binding (Creb1) gene expression have been associated with learning in a variety of different rodent studie...

Environmental, social and economic factors can influence public health, but the interactions can be difficult to understand and anticipate. A systems context, that is, a conceptual approach that simultaneously considers environmental, social and economic factors, is essential. Pr...

Stress tests are used clinically to uncover underlying disease and predict future cardiovascular risk. Previously, we used treadmill exercise stress in rats to reveal latent effects of air pollution inhalation. Other daily stressors, when modeled experimentally, may have similar ...

Health Canada assesses the health risks posed by chemicals in commerce in Canada. An important endpoint in chemical assessment is genetic toxicity (e.g., ability to damage DNA) which is associated with cancer and inherited genetic diseases. The in vitro micronucleus (MN) assay is...

Arsenic is one of the most interesting and enigmatic elements of the periodic table. Its use as an intentional poison has been known for centuries and occasionally occurs today. Arsenic has been called the “King of Poisons”, because it had been used to poison royalt...

he stable isotope composition of fish tissue is an intrinsic marker that can be used to track animal movements or identify distinct zones of feeding. Subtle but persistent isotopic differences in open waters through either depth or space may allow us to detect otherwise unobserva...

Elementary flows may be defined as materials, energy or space that are used/taken directly from the environment or released directly back into the environment. Elementary flows in all life cycle inventory and life cycle impact assessment sources used in a model must correspond, o...